#it's a bit draggy imo

[sunscall]

Oh, good! You got my signal.

#why are there so many cupboards in that house #i like how dennis said 'how subtle' in the first one when they meet up in the kitchen #and till s11 mac is still the least subtle mf #mac is so silly i love he #i remember liking s1 on my first watch but now i get why rcg dont #it's a bit draggy imo #OH WTF DENNIS IS WEARING LIKE THE SAME SHIRT IN A DIFF COLOUR #this shouldnt be surprising since. he always wears plain shirts but whatever #iasip posting #mac macdonald #dennis reynolds #macdennis #i wish i made the gifs brighter but it's too late and im too lazy #1x04 #11x05 #gifs

[gothicbarbie]

MY TOP BL’S OF 2019 AND EARLIER

I decided to group all of the BL series I've watched from 2019 and prior together because there simply weren't enough. I decided just to go with 10 for this list cuz there were nowhere near enough series as there were for the other years. I love that BL series have really taken off and improved every single year! I just have so much fun watching them and I'm glad others feel the same.

1. TharnType [Thai] - Sexiest bl of all time? Possibly. At least in 2019 haha. A few others have risen to it's level now, but the first time I saw this it really blew me away. Yes, there are some major problematic elements in this series but imo mewgulfs chemistry and the drama more than makes up for it.

2. History 1-3 [Taiwan] - This is a fun series and definitely the best for Taiwan imo. I love that each series is so different from the others. My personal favorite is season 3, I loved both seasons that year. But I've found enjoyable things about all of them. I also love that Taiwan has a good mix of intimate scenes and moments but also longer episodes and different storylines. Just wish we had more from them.

3. Until We Meet Again [Thai] - This drama definitely has really slow and cheesey moments and I am not sure the supernatural storyline was for me but I still had a great time watching. The three pairings were all so different from one another. I like that it had a deeper storyline as well. Definitely memorable.

4. Love By Chance [Thai] - This is one of the "older" thai bl's but has such a unique flair to it and there's a very specific charm that drew me in. It was just well done and cute.

5. The Boy Next Door [Korean] - This was a series I just recently watched and it was very fun and cute. Can def. be seen as a "bromance" in parts but it still had romantic undertones. Not a lot of "intimate" moments here or anything and defintely more of a comedy but I liked how different it was and it was really easy to watch.

6. 3 Will Be Free [Thai] - The most "poly" bl series we've gotten yet. I loved the focus on all three of the mains and relationship between the three of them. I think the show could have gone a bit deeper with it, but I still loved watching this show and I liked the thriller sort of aspect to it, it was different.

7. Theory of Love [Thai] - For me this one started out really good and then got quite a bit draggy near the middle. When it switched POV'S I wasn't as into it and there was way too much crying and drama lmao. But, for a sort of trashy, classic, Thai bl series, it fits the bil.

8. Dark Blue and Moonlight [Thai] - This BL was a HOT MESS from start to finish. A bit odd and all over the place, yet somehow, I still really enjoyed watching it. It was kinda like a car crash you couldn't look away from lmao.

9. Kiss Me Series [Thai] - TBH I don't remember this series all that much and should prob. rewatch it at some point, but it's another fun classic thai bl series. I mostly skimmed it for TayNew tbh.

10. He’s Coming to Me [Thai] - Ghost storylines aren't really my thing but I did enjoy this series and I thought the chemistry between Singto and Ohm was sweet and the storyline was pretty unique.

Honorary Mentions:

Thai: Together With Me (Don't ermember much of this but gotta love MaxTul), WaterBoyy (My first "bl" experience with New+Earth wayyy back before I ever even knew what BL was), Sotus (Didn't enjoy this one as much as other people but it was okay.)

Taiwan: Red Balloon (Nice Taiwanese series, nothing super outstanding but decent.)

ANTI: ADDICTED. I cant tolerate the "love" this series gets... it depicts sexual assault in a romantic light. It's an absolute NO for me.

Also check out my other lists from 2022, 2021, and 2020! https://gothicbarbie.tumblr.com/post/705139242020618240/my-top-20-bl-series-of-2022 https://gothicbarbie.tumblr.com/post/705227666795741184/my-top-15-bl-series-of-2021 https://gothicbarbie.tumblr.com/post/705674738528354304/my-top-15-bls-of-2020

#anti Addicted series #bl kiss #bl series #tharntype #mewgulf #history series #until we meet again #bounprem #love by chance #the boy next door bl #3 will be free #dark blue and moonlight #kiss me series #taynew #theory of love #third and khai #offgun #singto #he's coming to me #together with me #waterboyy #sotus #addicted bl #red balloon #BL's I'm watching #Top Bl's

[gunsatthaphan]

You’ve probably answered an ask like this b4 (and if u had I’m sorry for asking again!) but are there any dramas where like it’s bad, BUT there’s enough chemistry between the leads that it’s palatable? I know chemistry can’t save all sinking ships but it can certainly try

Or vice versa, really good show but the chemistry is just so lacking it wasn’t worth continuing, hope ur having a good day :)

hi anon!

I don't think I've gotten an ask like this before so it's all good lmao.

Obviously chemistry is important but like you said, it’s definitely not everything. 

Sadly there are way too many shows that have a chemistry>plot mentality and back in my early bl days I didn’t care about that as much but that has definitely changed lol like I’m no longer willing to tolerate shows like check out and I won’t consider a series palatable just because the chemistry is good. It's the main issue I’m having with Love in the Air at the moment. Vice Versa on the other hand gets both things right imo. the plot is good and so is the chemistry. I really like it.

But anyway to answer your question, here are some shows where the chemistry is better than the plot (only imo obvs, in no particular order):

Gen Y (just MarkKit - plot is horrible but kimcop are delivering)

The Tuxedo (one of the worst shows I have ever seen in terms of writing and a wasted potential for the leads who have a very good chem) 

Bad Buddy (the plot is not bad, don’t get me wrong. But it got a little lost. the show ended up relying too much on OhmNanon, who were fantastic though)

Love With Benefits (Gameplay clicks well with pretty much everyone on this show. that’s it.)

You Make Me Dance (I liked the leads but the plot was the dumbest thing ever sorry)

You’re My Sky (I wouldn’t say the plot was terrible but it got very draggy towards the end. A+ chem from all couples though)

Second Chance (plot put me to sleep but the pairings were good together)

TharnType 2 (unnecessary plot but mewgulf are mewgulf and that’s enough said.)

Secret Crush On You (this show is ridiculous from A-Z but billyseng are off the charts)

An honorable mention goes out to Cutie Pie, which I was hesitating to put on this list because I really liked it but admittedly the plot was a bit strange sometimes lmao. I wouldn’t call it bad but yknow. However I don’t think we need to talk about the chemistry because. no comment.

I hope this answered your question anon. 

take care and have a lovely day!!! 💜 

xxx

#thai bl #bl dramas #cutie pie #bad buddy #opinions

[thedreadvampy]

Yeah I mean just generally even before this.......really inexplicable plot point, the game has not felt amazing to me. I feel like it suffers for me playing it right after Disco Elysium which is a lot more open and also tbh more polished imo.

I like the ideas in Pentiment but not the execution overmuch, and I feel like navigating the game felt really needlessly confusing and draggy, especially when time-sensitive events kept happening without any reminders in your notes of what Book of Hours time (bunch of unfamiliar Latin words, and nowhere on the screen are you told what time it is right now) you need to be there.

Everything is time sensitive but it's wildly unclear how much time you actually have in each chunk of the day, and so much is being unnecessarily explained that useful information gets lost.

also the other side effect of the glossary thing is that half the time it feels more like an extended GCSE Bitesize History revision game, it's like looking at an interactive display at a fucking museum. Have a bit of faith in me, the player, to figure this stuff out from context or know it already - you literally do not need to add a glossary entry for every town or saint or Latin words someone mentioned in passing. can't tell me what time it is but gonna stop to explain the danse macabre apparently.

playing Disco Elysium I got moderately stuck at times but there weren't a lot of times where I felt like the game was the problem. so far with this one I constantly feel like I know what I want to do and what I think Andreas might do but I'm wrestling against the game and it also is giving me all the wrong information because like. Andreas clearly knows stuff like what time it is and where he's meant to be going but I don't because all the game wants to tell me is who's married to who and what the expectations on me are. That shouldn't feel like new information! That takes me out of the story so hard. it's not new and revealing information pertinent to the case bc it's an obvious fact of life to every fucking person here!

like maybe it gets better but the first chunk of the game just feels like it's focused on all the wrong information. and it ends super suddenly without really having a sense of how much time you have to talk to people or capacity to balance your day. it wants to be bitter and guilty but I'm not immersed enough for that because I still feel like I'm using a kid's educational CD ROM because if I click in the wrong place you pause a vital conversation to tell me what Matins is (not when though. that would be helpful.)

obviously DE gave itself a head start by giving its protagonist amnesia. but like. even then it didn't feel like the point of the game was to give me a list of background information about the norms and general knowledge of the world. this thing just feels. more exposition than substance. it's like reading a children's history book with plot to keep you engaged, not like an engaging story that happens to take place in the 16th century. more horrible histories than name of the rose.

#red said #i might be being too harsh. but i can't say this is working great for me. #doesn't help that it kind of looks like an educational flash game too #like i get the idea and i like the idea! of it looking like illuminations! #but it kind of. doesn't. first off animating in this style takes a lot of skill to not look cheap. #and this. kind of does a lot of the time. #second though also it's just SO digital. it doesn't look like medieval paintings it looks like Illustrator. #there's no texture or depth to it. it doesn't read as handdrawn #again this is a particularly unflattering area of comparison with DE which despite being 3d modelled DOES effectively convert painterliness #and the styles and line weights are so inconsistent between characters #it's honestly kind of maddening #we're trying to make this thing feel like a manuscript right? pick a style and stick to it. #even to the degree of. pick whether you're using coloured linework or black. how are you approaching age? #there's like 5 different styles that look spread across a century #except they also don't because they all look stubbornly 21st century. because of how digital they look.

[dreamhot]

did u like dune 👀👀 i’m a nerd and had already read the books and thought it was pretty good ngl

-slimedream

i've not read the book(s?) and i had never seen the original so it was completely new to me lmao

but it was good! banger soundtrack, gorgeous cinematography, and the costuming was chef's kiss... was a bit draggy and overlong imo, but not unforgiveably so. and i'm pretty sure that's the first time i've seen timothee chalamet in like. Anything, now that i think about it

#slime tag #smile.ask

[whipbogard]

Thoughts on TLH? I watched it back-to-back and I am not sure if I actually liked it tbh.

Heyyyyyyyyyy thanks for asking!

As someone who thinks the TLH comic is messy, I sure find the movie was a bit more organised? But also, I made the mistake of going into Part 1 trying to compare it to the comic and was sorely disappointed with all the changes. It took a rewatch of Part 1 with an open mind for me to realise some of the good parts about the movie.

I love that the movie explained every mystery during the event. Not sure if I'm dumb or what but I actually hate how TLH comic never really explained about the ending? Like what, why, how. Who at when? These mysteries do not translate well to Dark Victory too but DV was slightly more structured imo.

I, for one, appreciate with how Harvey was portrayed in here. I'm big fan of actual cinnamon roll Harvey who honest to god is just trying to do his job to serve Gotham and that's what exactly he was in here. I'm utterly delighted to find that he's innocent uwu <3

Also Two-Face actually being protective of Harvey instead of belittling him like usual? Wow, sir, that's hot af and when you appeared in Falcone's penthouse and said "Judgement Day" I swear I almost died. He's just super, super charming imo LOL

I love how Bruce was portrayed as slightly more novice in here than in the comic. Everyone keep hinting that he's clumsy/dumb and I'm like please guys he's trying askhgkashg

And Selina?????? SHES SO CUTE????? I love her like this infinitely better T^T AND ALL HER SCENES WITH HARVEY WERE PROBABLY MY FAVS???? God I love their dynamics so much LOL

Now onto the dislikes.

Everything that I dislike about this movie has got to do with Gilda. I don't like how she's portrayed at all. When will I have a supportive Gilda that's probably a lil homicidal because she doesn't want anyone to bully his husband?

I also don't like how Harvey and Gilda's marriage was treated in here. JFC they were so cute in the TLH comic with all the talk about starting a family etc. In here? Cringe. When Harvey brought up the "D" word, I was all mAYBE ITS FOR THE BETTER MY DUDES.

I don't quite like the pacing too. Some parts felt super rushed and some parts felt super draggy?

Anyway, that was me trying to be objective with my review; the fanon/shipper-goggles were off. But with said goggle on, I am definitely HAPPY with all the BruHarvey (or more accurately, BatDent) and Gotham Justice Triumvirate moments aksghasg god I love love love that ending with the three of them on the rooftop????? MY HEART WAS SOARING IT WAS PERFECT

#SORRY I HAVE FORGOTTEN ABOUT THIS TOTALLY #I actually wrote this as soon as I got it coz I had a lot of feelings???? #but then I was on my phone and there's no spoiler cut for the mobile app #so I saved it in my draft #and here I am one month later smh #maybe I need to rewatch part 2 ehehe #2F saying judgement day on my mind 24/7 #what BDE gOD

[cywscross]

I've been reading through TCF and I LOVE IT! I was wondering if you had any other recommendations? I'm still reading TCF and honestly one of my favorite things is the zero romance. At all. Like not just the MC, it just doesn't come up, it's not even an issue! But obviously they care about each other and Found Family is the best tag for this story.

TCF is soo good. I also usually prefer novels with no romance, esp since if there’s a hetship thrown in, it’s usually terribly done.

As for recs, here’s a few others I’ve read/am currently reading (not particularly similar to TCF but I really liked them too):

I think I’ve rec’d Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint and A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special before but I’ll just slap them here since they’re both really good. Returner’s is still ongoing but ORV is done. If you like time travel and magic systems and intelligent MCs, you should give Returner’s a try. If you like apoc death games, clever protags, complicated plots, and a million and one tropes all mixed together, ORV will murder you with all of that, it’s heavy but excellent. I should add that Returner’s does have a het ship but it’s not the main focus, there’s a lot more emphasis on the team as family trope, and the novel is currently at 150+ chapters and romance still isn’t really a thing. As for ORV, the main (slash) ship’s pretty obvious but technically there’s no actual romance in it.

I love the apoc genre so that’s where I went next. Dominion’s End was really good. Basically apoc + special abilities + time travel + reincarnation + overprotective siblings. Prob my favourite thing about this novel is how many fucks the MC and her family don’t give about killing outsiders who want to harm them, they are very much the family first sort of people, and it’s just so refreshing to have a main cast that don’t get all angsty hung-up on murder. Like, that can be good too, but sometimes you just want us vs. the world trope and none of that messy moral drama. It’s still ongoing, I’ve read up to the end of v4, I think v5 is currently being translated, but it’s been really enjoyable. No romance so far. I will add that when you first start, all’s good, but you might find ch5+6 a bit hard to get through. The situation is resolved nicely tho, and while I think MC could’ve made a better choice there, her reason for it was also understandable after everything she went through imo, and the group settles after that anyway. Novel’s worth pushing through that part.

Then there’s The Trial Game of Life. This one is still ongoing with only 17 chapters translated so far, but updates are steady and recent. It’s slash, and it’s basically “what happens after you die” + survival games - the worldbuilding’s pretty interesting so far. I def like the main lead (smart MC, calm under fire), and the love interest is pretty cool too. This was actually the review that got me into it in the first place lol.

And I am currently almost done The Earth is Online. This one’s complete, and I’m on 211 so almost done T_T Genre is apoc + death games. It’s been a wild ride and I’ve loved it. Also slash and I actually really like the relationship development in this. The MC relies more on his intellect and strategies but he is able to hold his own in a fight, while the love interest is basically the strongest person but he’s pretty smart too. They click really well, 10/10, relationship done right. If I had to give it one critique, it would be that it does start kind of slow. A bit draggy? So my advice is push through the first 10-15 chapters if you’re on the fence about it before you consider dropping it, it def picks up a lot after that.

#Message #Webnovel Rec

[sexysilverstrider]

ok i havent done the finale route yet but im done with all the main boys route and heres my ranking based on preferences/plot/character/how NOT fucked up it is. take note im only doing best end coz i wanna keep this fluffy mood lol

1. nicolas route - truly love it! its just nicola denying his feelings and roberto going absolutely apeshit that his crush falls for the self-sacrifical self-loathing playboy. nicola and mcs first kiss was chefs kiss 💕 nicola trying His Best to ignore his feelings for mc but ends up loving her more and more gives me serotonin. no one dies and nicola has a very sexy cg and no im not talking about the cg of them in bed together

2. yangs route - LMAO its just a wild ride from start to finish. i get to see yang be a piece of shit up close. i also get to see yang experience FeelingsTM for the first time. some problematic content because its yang but theres also Lots of sexy content so to me that balances it out. sadly literally all the mafia bachelors die but again its yang so its ok

3. gilberts route - ITS VERY TAME AND CHILL LMAOOOOO given that its the final route and its previous routes are yang and orlok i feel like gils route is a pack of ice on a bruise. very soap drama very cute very simple and sweet. sadly nicola dies and his death was just. brushed off like that. how dare

4. dantes route - basically is the Main Story imo coz it covers about mcs backstory and falzones involvement with her. it was a nice route since it was my first route. ending was vanilla but very sweet. i do enjoy dante losing his composure over mc coz of his long time crush over her. but yea im a bit neutral on the character since its not much of my trope n the story was a bit draggy for me coz i wasnt attached to any of the charas yet. also orlok dies. who wants tht??? not me

5. orloks route - ORLOK SWEETIE IM SO SORRY WHILE YOUR ROUTE IS EMOTIONAL AS HELL AND I LOVE HEARING YOU HAVE BREAKDOWNS IT IS ALSO THE MOST STRESSFUL ROUTE LMAOOOOO but he was v v cute when he opens up to mc. still wished they fcked in some parts of the story. give my man equality (also nicola Dies 2 but this time theres a scene where he shows regret and sorrow to dante during his last breath. hate that)

#orloks cg kiss was even...in his tragic end...hate it #ANYWAYS im def gonna replay nicolas route once im done w the finale #i really enjoyed it coz the mafia bosses live and get to see nicola be a loving mess for mc #also roberta being the villain main....tht shit shocked me but also mmuah #i love yang too i wanna whack his head #its like......stressful but a stress i enjoy #yang and nicola share the same line of the spectrum but each stood on each end of the line #fafar yaps #about piofiore

[endlessvoidsnkittens]

I'm so damn tired, whew.

I didn't sleep that great last night. I didn't wanna get up this morning (and didn't until about 11:30am.)

Been tired and draggy all day. Been in a decent mood though so whatev.

Helped mom get all our Christmas paraphernalia out of the shed and brought it into the house. Set up the family room tree and my room tree. They're not decorated yet.

It's a bit early for Christmas, IMO, but it makes mom happy and I do like the lights. Plus I can bring the William Shatner Christmas album out and terrorize mom with it.

#my boring life

[dillydedalus]

october reading

i finished my masters thesis this month (yay!) so while i still read quite a lot for escapism i was also operating on no more than 2 braincells at any time, and one of those braincells was just. continuously screaming. so any incoherence or whatever here is. because of that.

i am sovereign, nicola barker a fantastically weird & enjoyable novella about a house-viewing gone wrong that eventually blows up the novella form. i don’t want to give away the meta aspect too much, even tho it’s not entirely unpredictable, but it is so very entertaining and delightful to read. had such a fun time with this. also has a great cover. 4/5

the lifted veil, george eliot i’ve only read middlemarch by eliot, so a 75-page novella about the supernatural sure was... different. it’s fine, but nothing special imo. i enjoyed the first chapter, which sets up latimer, a soft young man with the gift of foresight/telepathy and his fascination with his brother’s fiancee, whose mind remains opaque to him (....twilight???), but the second half is pretty meh. 2/5

the notebooks of malte laurids brigge, rainer maria rilke (read the german obvi) loved the beginning of this, where morbid, too-intense, death-obsessed author-insert malte laurids brigge walks around paris, seeing everyone carry their death with them, which then makes him think of the deaths he has witnessed in his childhood. the parts about his childhood in a danish noble family were also good, but it really lost me with the overtly poetic, weird historical/religious stuff?? feel like this might have been a victim of termin master’s thesis like maybe that’s not the time for poetic, fragmentary, modernist-ish novels. 3/5

wie der soldat das grammofon repariert, saša stanišić (read in german, english translation by anthea bell) i really enjoyed stanišić‘s memoir herkunft last year so i went back to his 2006 classic, about a kid called aleksandar growing up in yugoslavia and eventually fleeing to germany as a refugee during the war. it’s very similar to herkunft in story, although the presentation is very different. honestly overall i found it a bit Too Much, too long & too stylised in its structure. but like, i can see why it’s so popular. 2.5/5

i capture the castle, dodie smith i really liked this! cassandra mortmain is a very strong narrator, the atmosphere of the dilapidated castle and the dysfunctional family are great, & i was surprised by the crushing poverty of the family in the beginning - cassandra obviously attempts to cover this up both in her own head & in her journal, but for much of the first half or so i was genuinely really worried for the kids - and this makes rose so much more sympathetic in her resolution to escape poverty. i was less convinced by the whole love quadrangle this book got going on, but on the whole this was very charming, but often very melancholy in a far deeper way than i expected. 4/5 

the death of vivek oji, akwaeke emezi my second emezi this year, altho sadly neither of them have lived up to the glory of freshwater. this one is about (gender) identity, grief, trauma, love, and solidarity/community based on otherness, which are similar thematically to freshwater, but in a novel that is, i would say, both more stylistically conventional and more hopeful/uplifting (altho it is still very depressing in parts). i enjoyed this on the whole, but it just doesn’t grab you by the throat the way freshwater does, and the reveal/central mystery just feels a bit lacking. 3/5

gott wohnt im wedding, regina scheer listen, this book is probably more competent & historically interesting than literarily great BUT it’s literally (literally) set around the corner from where i live, i know pretty much every single place & business mentioned in it & the house troubles are extremely relatable, if a lot worse than what i am currently experiencing. anyway. this novel is centered around a house in berlin-wedding & the people who live in it & it's about the holocaust & the porajmos, current discrimination against sinti&roma, the history of the wedding, gentrification, familial trauma & all that. it’s very interesting historically, slow but still very readable, and like.... i just really love the wedding! it’s kinda shitty & depressing but i love it!!! 4/5 the only good indians, stephen graham jones note: the elk in this book is not what you, a european, think of as an elk. that’s a moose. anyway, this is a horror novel about four native american men who hunt for elk when, where and how they shouldn’t have and ten years later find themselves pursued by a vengeful elk spirit. i enjoyed this! the scenes where shit goes down were certainly very horrible & gruesome & very sad as well. 3.5/5

solutions & other problems, allie brosh this book really is out there & exists. anyway hyperbole & a half was like, one of my formative internet things and i still love it a lot. this book is second only to the winds of winter in eternally getting pushed back and back and back, so this even getting published was def a pleasant surprise. it’s still really funny, and the weird ugly drawings are still amazingly effective, but this one is. very sad. some really bad shit happened to brosh inbetween and it’s kinda a downer (i mean the first one had the depression saga but this one... is darker). 3.5/5

a supposedly fun thing i’ll never do again, david foster wallace .....i might have to stan dfw, just a little bit. like, i read infinite jest when i was way too young to appreciate it (still traumatised by the uh. creative use of brooms tho) & i have NO intentions of ever rereading it BUT this essay collection was so good that i may just have to read a lot of his other stuff. particular highlights are the title essay, about a cruise journey, and an essay about the illinois state fair, two things that feel particularly fascinating and offputting in equal measure in this year of plague, where even the idea of being in enclosed spaces with many people freaks you out. but i also really appreciated his essays on david lynch & television & fiction, even if i don’t agree with all of his takes. he just has such a good voice! funny, smart, precisely observed but always with a strange spin. 4/5, minus points for too much tennis, but oh well

gruppenbild mit dame, heinrich böll (group portrait with lady) marcel reich-ranicki criticised this book for being, essentially, a sloppy mess and that’s kind of accurate - it’s definitely too long & a bit draggy & böll (and the narrator/“author”) go on tangents and into details with indulgence & abandon, but it’s also... kind of brilliant? the way the “author” collects material and testimony on leni (the lady), her family, coming-of-age and the love affair with a soviet forced labourer that made her an outcast, constructing a documented history of her while leni herself remains ever elusive, the focus on structure, architecture, construction, the endless loops of self-justification (pelzer’s insistance that he is not inhuman, the real estate tycoon’s insistence that they just want what’s best for leni & that her resistance to profit-logic is abnormal)... there’s so much in here, and a lot of it doesn’t need to be there, but a lot of it does. 3.5/5 

sweet fruit, sour land, rebecca ley very lyrical, quiet, feminist climate dystopia. it’s good, well-written, very evocative of hunger and loss, a dystopia but really more about grief and identity, and i read it during the last few days of my master’s thesis and thus have absolutely nothing to say about it. 3.5/5

i also & this will be a shock, dnf’d burning down the haus: punk rock, revolution & the fall of the berlin wall, a book about the east-berlin/german punk subculture. it just felt like a longform essay artificially extended into a 400-page book & the writing was pretty basic in a music bro tries to be deep and like, subversive and shit kinda way. 

#the books i read #long post

[bthump]

Is it worth it to read past Golden Age in your opinion?

lol I read the whole thing twice within like a year and a half so I’d say yes but tbh it probably depends on what you want from the story. Like yeah I do think it went downhill after the Golden Age in a lot of ways, and obviously griffguts are separated for the vast majority of it, but imo there’s still a lot to enjoy.

It’s long but imo the pacing is still pretty good until you get to the Fantasia arc, give or take some draggy fight scenes. I really like some of the new characters, like Farnese and Serpico, and a lot of the apostles on Griffith’s side. I mean I complain about Farnese’s character shift often lol but I still like her a lot as a character.

Guts’ positive character development isn’t my favourite thing ever lol but it’s not badly done (for the most part) and he has some good character moments that I really like. NeoGriffith’s side of the story is short on character stuff (at least overtly, bc ngriff is supposed to be emotionless lol) but it’s interesting thematically imo, at least throughout the millenium falcon arc.

And despite them being fewer and far between, some of my favourite griffguts moments (and some of the most homoerotic) happen after the Golden Age. Plus Guts and Serpico have a bit of a mildly gay vibe too that helped tide me over while reading it lol, and Farnese and Casca as well despite Casca’s state of being for most of it. And with minor characters too there’s some fun homoeroticism if that’s one of the main draws of Berserk for you, like Rosine and Jill’s relationship. And as a bonus there are griffguts parallels everywhere even when they’re separated, so there’s still stuff to pick up on and overthink lol.

And if you hear a lot of complaining about the art that might sway your opinion, tbf while my favourite Berserk art era is late Golden Age I still really like it up until the Fantasia arc, which is relatively recent in the grand scheme of the sheer number of chapters lol. So I don’t think you’d have to worry about that for a while.

That said it is really long, and if you don’t enjoy fight scenes a lot of it will probably be kind of tedious lol. Plus without knowing how it’s going to end it’s hard to say whether it’ll ultimately turn out to be a giant disappointing waste of time or not lol. As of right now I still have some hope that things will get interesting and darker again, and Guts and Casca won’t end up together, but at the same time there’s a reason a lot of Berserk fans think the story’s heading towards Good vs Evil followed by Guts and Casca riding away into the sunset with some affirmation of them being a family.

So yeah basically I thought it was worth reading and still pretty enjoyable throughout, but if you’re mainly into the story for the griffguts relationship and aren’t too attached to Guts outside of that, and/or you’re not into action, and/or you don’t end up liking the new characters much, etc, it might not be worth it.

My advice would be to try it and read til at least the Hill of Swords scene after the Conviction arc (til ch 183 iirc), and then decide whether you’re invested enough to keep going. The Conviction arc is kind of weird and campy tonally and a bit confusing imo so it might be offputting, and if you really dgaf you should quit whenever you feel like it lol, but I think it’s worth giving it a shot at least.

#ask #b #Anonymous #theme: opinion #general info

[atopearth]

Fate/stay night Réalta Nua Part 7 - Last Episode + Overall Review

Last Episode So, basically, in order for Shirou and Saber to be together, Saber had to wait for a very long time in Avalon (I assume) and Shirou had to pursue her endlessly after his death? That’s interesting. Honestly though, I didn’t expect this “true ending”, it’s kinda saddening as it is sweet, but I guess it’s mostly sweet because I’m sure even though they both waited/travelled a long time, Saber’s smile at the end shows how worth it everything was. Saber looked so girly though! I think I would have preferred a different dress, but it is really cute and I guess it’s probably something Shirou has always wanted her to wear since she never really got to be the normal girly girl she could have been. Anyway, it was nice but nothing biggie. In all honesty, I found how the Fate route was perfect as it is and I didn’t feel like romance was really the main point of it so I never really cared for whether they got together or not, but I’m sure a lot of people would have liked to see it, so I can see why they made this. It’s a happy thing though, so nothing say much about other than I’m happy for them haha.

Overall Review Phew! I think I really binged through the VN haha! Aside from Heaven’s Feel, I think I nearly spent time reading through it every day because it was so engaging haha. I enjoyed it so much more than I expected and would definitely give it a 9/10. Although it has lots of flaws and stuff I didn’t like about the story in each route, I found the VN nevertheless immensely entertaining. Not only were the character interactions great, I think Shirou’s motivations and his personality were portrayed really well, so well that I couldn’t help but feel so emotionally affected by him. I think I might have loved him the most tbh, even the girls can’t compare! On the other hand, Rin is still my best girl, then Saber, Illya, Taiga and Sakura. Yes, Taiga is so great (even though she barely appears) because she’s hilarious or great (as a true teacher) when she appears, and omg, I didn’t think the Taiga dojos could be so good. Honestly, I looked forward to getting dead ends etc because I loved to see Taiga shouting at me for being dumb and making that choice hahahaa.

Anyway, for me, the highlight of FSN was definitely the characters. Because without them, the story can be pretty repetitive or questionable, especially UBW. I’ll admit that UBW probably had the least engaging fights because as I said before, I think the power balance and the choices of Caster were pretty…silly imo haha. But I honestly enjoyed Shirou’s battle with Archer and Gilgamesh because they were more mental battles (which I prefer) than physical ones and just as Shirou won against them, I think his drive and determination won me over really well too. Same can be said with the Fate route, Saber was really OP the more things she got back such as her sheath, but I think seeing her and Shirou both discover how similar yet different they were, and how through their differences they found an answer to their respective determinations and beliefs really made the Fate route great. So when I compare the two, I have to say I loved both routes just as much. Which is pretty surprising because I honestly thought I’d like UBW much more haha. Anyway, I think the most hilarious yet saddening thing is that in the anime, I never liked Shirou because he was so bland and boring but OMG, he’s so great in the VN, he’s my number one🥺 I love how even though he might seem like the typical guy that’s like I need to save everyone blah blah, but he’s really a guy that’s so adamant about it to the point that it’s literally detrimental to himself but he still persists. Even though it was a dream that was passed on to him through Kiritsugu and he felt responsible in achieving it, you could really see as the story goes on that just as he’s so lost about these beliefs, he is also really level headed and determined about them, he’s not just blindly following them because “this is the right way of life”.

Heaven’s Feel was a route I wanted to like, but I think Sakura and her personality really made it difficult, I liked the story and how things went, but I just didn’t have the same strong feelings that I did alongside Shirou, like, I did in the other routes but just not this one and I kinda feel bad about it, because it’s true that Sakura had a really tough life but sympathy was all that I could give her lol. Anyway, as it is with a lot of these VNs, at some points each route was draggy in their own senses, but really, I still liked it because I think the draggy bits just made you understand the characters’ motivations even more and even better, so it was still great~ 10/10 for emotions, 7/10 for story haha, and since I’m a person who puts more value on the feelings a VN produces in me (and the characters!), that’s what makes me give FSN a 9. I legit cried, not as much as I did in Hakuoki (legit cried in most routes haha, and they were rivers of tears!), but the heart wrenching moments really made an impact that will be hard to forget. Oh, and the soundtrack omggg, I love it, so amazing! I know people seem to prefer the original soundtrack for Emiya but I honestly love the new remixed one more, it has both that energy and that solemness to it and I really like that. Sorrow is also a great one! And!~ I never realised that FSN has a fan disc/sequel called Fate/Hollow Ataraxia!! Well, time to read through this one too then!

#fate stay night

[razberryyum]

Positive Things about Guardian as a series (spoilers)

So I’ve been pretty harsh about the production team behind Guardian (writers, directors, set designers, wardrobe, the crew…including the extras…basically anyone who are not Bai Yu, Zhu Yilong, the actors who played Old Chu, Little Guo and Zhu Hong, who are Jiang Ming Yang, Xin Peng and  Gao Yu Er, respectively) and about the quality of the show as a whole when it doesn’t involve our main characters/leads, and I’ve actually been feeling bad about that now that the initial sense of shock has worn off a little. As a result, I woke up this morning and decided to make a list of all things that are GOOD about the show. Now, I am still hurting about how it ended and the things that went wrong which imho could have easily NOT (f.e. the 10,000 years dirt nap), but…BUT I will try my best NOT to let that negativity seep into this. 

So here goes, in no particular order, the positive things about the show:

- the show even exists. I mean, really, God bless, especially considering where it’s made. How did that even happen?? Despite all my bitching, I still marvel (almost DAILY so far) at the fact that Guardian exists and I got to watch it cuz China could’ve easily never put it back online. 

- the existence of Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan. But that’s pretty much a given. Especially since my life is forever changed because of them.

- every Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan scene together. That’s a given also. I would not be surprised if the writers literally used all their meager talent and energy on constructing those moments so that’s why they didn’t have much juice left for everything else. I mean, that’s a good thing, right? Kinda.

- they got Bai Yu and Zhu Yilong to play Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei. I really hope the two actors got compensated well for their performances, though somehow I doubt it, especially since, from what I understand ZYL (omg I just stupidly realized the acronym for his name is the same as Zhao Yunlan’s. Wtf that is so cute!) was still very slowly rising in the ranks. But hopefully their current popularity as a result of the show has made up for it.

- the score and songs. Bought the OST from iTunes like one or two episodes in, loved the score and themes. I even bought Bai Yu and Zhu Yilong’s duet “Time of Flight” a few times (different platforms, different devices) cuz I just wanted to contribute to them…even though…who knows if they even see a cent from it, and pretty sure my few measly dollars probably isn’t helping anything. Probably just makes me seem stupid and insane. 

- the cute episode titles. Which I wasn’t even aware of until @avenuex123 pointed it out. Adorable.

- the censorship. Ok, censorship is never good imo, but in this singular case, perhaps because there were existing restrictions on the BL subject matter, the actors therefore were willing to sign on since they knew they didn’t have to do anything explicit (or maybe they would’ve been willing, this is just my own stupid assumption because of how Chinese society is…I say that as an Asian American with many…erm…”old-fashioned” friends and family members) AND they probably saw it as challenge to find creative ways to convey the nature of the characters while working within the confines of censorship laws. Although, this might be a case of me just trying to look on the bright side.

- the easter eggs. I agree with fellow Guardian fans who have pointed out that there was some love put into the making of this show, which is clearly exemplified in the small momentos scattered throughout the series. 

- the time travel concept. Not that the delve into the past was done well because I did have problems with it, but I did really appreciate the fact that Zhao Yunlan was the one and only all along due to his being sucked up into the wormhole and spit back out 10,000 years in the past to meet Shen Wei for the first time. I thought it was a tremendously romantic idea…even if the general execution of the past left a lot to be desired. I promised that I wouldn’t be negative, but I still have to say that while love at first sight is a lovely notion, it was still a bit hard to swallow that SW would fall SOOOO head over heels with ZYL after just conversing with him for like a few hours, to the point that he would pine for him for 10,000 years (though it’s probably technically more like a few decades due to his dirt nap, but I’ll buy it felt like 10K years to him). I just wish ZYL spent more time in the past with SW, and actually @xparrot‘s fic (”Now Lie In It" on AO3) made me feel a LOT better about the whole thing since they successfully fixed the problem by awesomely separating each scene we saw into days and years. But I did like the time travel idea; it was cool, even though it’s different from the novel.

- the nature of the necklace. I really liked the candy wrapper core. Broke my heart into bits and pieces in a GOOD way. Really loved everything about it. I understand it’s different in the novel as well, but in the context of the changes done for the show, I thought that was a pretty brilliant move. 

-  the Da Qing and ZYL ownership scene in episode 35 with SW listening. Loved that scene and the multiple purposes it was serving: establishing Da Qing’s relationship with ZYL, giving voice to how SW was feeling about ZYL leaving,   inspiring SW with the necklace idea, and then of course, the censorship workaround because it was like very homo while being nohomo at the same time. 

- SW and ZYL’s wardrobe. Probably a given since the fact that I love them means I love everything about them, but, like, SW even looked good as the Black Cloak Envoy and ZYL as Kunlun and those outfits (and their hairstyles) could’ve gone wrong so easily…thank God no one thought it was a good idea to make them wear a stupid looking afro wig or feathers on their heads.

- Old Chu/Little Guo. They were adorable, my second OTP from the show, and I was seriously jealous of all the PDA they were getting away with.

- recurring characters. Even though some of their acting abilities were highly questionable, I did appreciate how certain characters introduced in the beginning of the show would pop up again later on. I’m sure a good part of that was to save on hiring more people, but I still thought it was neat. For example, I wasn’t too fond of the merit brush dude (cuz his story was dumb and draggy), but I did like how this innocuous store owner that was little more than a background character at the start eventually became one of the villains. 

-  Ye Zun. He’s so CUTE. I mean, ok, Zhu Yilong playing him helped, but just seriously, his character is so fucked up and misguided and emo and adorable that I just wanted to give him a big hug all the time. When that shitty cockatoo he calls “Boss”** started smacking him around, I wanted to reach into the screen and throttle that ugly POS. I wouldn’t even be surprised if that asshole more than physically abused Ye Zun. Anyway, I just felt bad for the little puppy. I wish we got to spend more time with him and that he got redeemed earlier so that he could enjoy some love and hugs before being led into the wormhole (or…wherever it was that his big bro was heading off with him…wait, would it be the wormhole? But they died, right? So technically it should be like the reincarnation hole?) **(btw, why “Boss”? Why not “Leader”? Are the head villains paying their henchmen to follow them? So weird that they call their leaders “boss” which would imply they’re being paid wages which I truly doubt is the case)

- Da Qing. He’s a cutie too. Really wish the kitty girl had lived so that he wouldn’t be all alone, now that ZYL is gone. I guess Tech boy Lin Jing is going to take care of him now?  

- Zhu Hong. When she wasn’t inexplicably screaming her dialogue, I did like her…but a huge part of that is probably because I remember the actress from Yanxi Palace (she was playing a small villainous role but she did a good job) and I felt sorry for her. Putting the unrequited love aside, it must also be tough seeing ZYL now and yet knowing that’s not even the same guy she loves at all. Damn, that actually must be so unsettling for everyone who knew the old ZYL. 

-  the personality swap episode (ep 25). THAT was freaking adorable. Just wish it lasted longer and that eventually it affected SW and ZYL. Although, since they already eye-fuck each other like 99% of the time, what would be different? I guess SW would be a little looser…and ZYL would be a bit more sad and pining-er? (Btw, I literally never heard of the word “microexpressions” until Zhu Yilong entered my life). Omg, an image of them switching outfits just popped into my head. Oh shit, that would’ve been FUN to see. Dammit.

That’s all I could come up with for now…I’ll probably add more as I think of more things. Please feel free to contribute if you think of positive things I’ve left out. I might not agree but I’d still love to hear them.

#Guardian #Zhen hun #镇魂 #spoilers #Shen Wei #Zhao Yunlan #WeiLan #Shen Wei x Zhao Yunlan #Ye Zun #Chu/Guo #Chu Shu Zhi #Guo Changcheng #Da Qing #Zhu Hong #coping mechanism

[surprisebitch]

i binge-watched Grey’s Anatomy last year and got til season 10 and stopped cause it was getting a bit draggy imo but Shonda really had to introduce a character who’s the first openly gay male surgeon in the show and he’s Asian like

DAAAMN

#I AM HERE FOR ASIAN MEN FINALLY GETTING THAT REPRESENTATION WE DESERVE #I need him to be a main cast though and then i'll power through and catch up #GODDD!!! #greys anatomy #nico kim #alex landi

[hongkongdramas]

Barrack O’ Karma

Yay to creepy and mysterious themed dramas! I have always liked such drama themes. So currently I’ve only watched till episode 4 and I have started to like it. The first two episode under the story ‘梦’ wasn’t impressive to me. It was exciting at some point in time but excitement level went into a flat line again... I would assume that it was an opening to show how Siu (Joel Chan) has this connection to his past life through his dreams. But it was a little too draggy by the some what random robbery case and a murder case in the prostitute house. And I was bored out of some unnecessary conversation going on which was a tad bit too long...

Episode 2 to 4 was way more interesting compared to the first two. I liked how Candice Chiu portrayed the mother that lost her child. That story for ‘婴’ kept me really curious as to what Mrs Ho wanted and the paranoia that the baby’s mother went through was so pitiful. Even though there were a lot of conversational scenes on some baby care methods, i think it was necessary for them to show the transition of how the baby’s mother trusted Mrs Ho to starting to suspect her weird behaviors. Now i’m looking forward to the other stories and now how they ended episode 4 with a flight turbulence!

The next story “娃” was interesting too. What started off as an uncomfortable involvement with dolls for men’s pleasure ended up to be a sad story about how a father felt so lonely after his daughter grew up. But this episode is filled with so much jokes that are so not for children.. 🙂 Anyway kudos for having an interracial couple and the first I’ve seen in a hk drama. Speaks so much about being accepting and diverse.

Following that was “鴉烏” (is it on purpose that they put the name the other way round? Or should I be reading it from right to left instead...) which has a pretty sad ending. Deep meanings in this story... the pressure from society and high expectations from parents on kids nowadays are really prevalent. The moment Tung-Tung said he didn’t want to grow up to face the hardship as an adult related to me so much. It was sad to see everyone losing their memory about Tung-Tung and finally even Tung-Tung himself losing his memory about his parents.

“異夢” was refreshing because it finally brought us back to the past to understand more about their past life (if there is some reincarnation thingy going on). It was so cool to see the opposite of what was happening like how it was Sis Coco dreaming of future Siu while in present life was Siu dreaming of Coco. And also Law Lan Jeh’s cameo!!! The lesbian case was ordinary but I guess it was necessary to link up the stolen $ and the release of Brother Hung.

Finally I got my question answered in these episodes. During Tung-Tung’s case, I was wondering so much on why Tung-Tung’s parent didn’t bat an eyelid when Alex came in to find out why they were arguing so loud. It felt like Alex wasn’t there at all... and I finally found my answer at the end of “洞”. Is Alex dead??? Mmmmm. Have to watch on I guess. Anyway, IMO, there wasn’t much of a supernatural thing going on in “洞”... (other than the fact that the hole in the wall was the creepy element to it) I guess there was an inspirational message going on throughout the story of pursuing one’s dream like how Mia finally found her calling and decided to put in effort in achieving what she wanted. Of course it wouldn’t have been possible without the help of that guy {forgot that guy’s name.. shall call him chicken little like how Siu called him}. Chicken Little was the one who made Mia realize her goal in life despite been an annoying keyboard warrior his whole life...

Next was “金丁” which was the weirdest shit story ever... I was totally baffled at the entire story with that weird ass theory of getting happiness after sleeping with that guy... I think this was the worst story ever that I have nothing to say about it..

Yuki Jeh is actually very pretty!! Her “美魔女” story was interesting because it linked back to her mum in the past. So we get to toggle back and forth between past and present to see the reason for her obsession with beauty. Too bad Yuki Jeh went bonkers till the end.. I wasn’t expecting her to use the cotton wool to wipe it on her face when Shui left 😅

DR POONNNN! Like everyone else, I was anticipating and waiting and waiting for Dr Poon to appear and there she is!!! But she appeared for such a short duration :( Anyway, the story of “Simone” was so cute!!!! I really like the part when they enter the gaming story. The augmented reality they were in was so interesting! And the story really shows how scary technology can be in our digital world. The manifestation of technology, especially in the world of augmented and virtual reality, can be dangerous where our personal data are constantly being collected for other purposes... the love story was just an added feature.. Hahahah KELLY CHEUNG was gorgeous!! And that Big White Duel reference there was cool! Plus also, they were finally revealing the ultimate story behind Siu, Alex, Fai and Coco. Teacher Lam is super mysterious and I’m really wondering what is that “thing” that he refers to suspiciously.

Last story!! 夢遊. Okay actually I’m only till the last second episode. Wow mind blown. They actually came up with some sci-fi thingy where you’d have to almost drown to time travel...? Okay that was out of the blue.. and omg don’t tell me Lam Gor Zai is some cat demon that kills people.

Finished Barrack O’ Karma and I was a little confused at the ending and also annoyed at the fact that they spent a whole 3-5 mins nearing the end to show flashbacks other then providing us with a little more details for the story.

Instead of looking at Lam Gor Zai being a real cat demon or some sort, I would rather view Lam Gor Zai suffering from mental illness as a result. His horrible past (the sacrificial burial) might caused him to suffer from PTSD and resulted in him having DID (dissociative identity disorder) hence the “cat demon”. The cat demon was the other personality he had that harms people. Just like M. Night Shyamalan’s Split movie starring James McAvoy having 24 split personalities, the “Beast” was just one of the personality that goes around harming people. 

The final ending was the confusing part. Initially, the part where Coco and Siu (who time traveled) were almost dying on the boat, I thought that if Coco were to die and Siu to survive, Siu would not drown in the present time and Alex would have been declared dead from the missing flight. And if Coco were to survive and Siu to die, Alex would have survived in the present time and found from the missing flight while Siu would have drowned in the water tank. Boy was I wrong... instead, I would think that for Siu to time travel and have altered the past, it has created a whole new dimension in the present where characters we have seen had a whole new story in their lives but yet a striking similarity to what we have seen in the past episodes. (e.g Mia who is now a star with that chicken little who may have a special connection to her, Yuki Jeh who is now blind and unable to “appreciate” the beauty she has, Tung-tung who is now with his family and his dad a common bus driver etc.) As for Alex, she is now (coincidentally still) a flight attendant while Siu now a pilot. The eye contact and tears in their eyes may have brought forth the familiarity both had for each other just like how Alex said that she felt this homey feeling when entering Twilight Mansion and that it felt as if she had been here the whole time. 

Oh there was this weird scene where we see Lam Gor Zai and the older version of him (played by Lau Kong) carrying on to Lan Po. Seriously confused by this... I need some explanations here... That was so out of the blue...

Overall, I really enjoyed myself watching this drama with every subplot and ultimately the main story on reincarnation and time travel. Kudos! Looking forward to the sequel which has been green-lit!

#金宵大廈 #李施嬅 #陈山聪 #barrack o'karma #selena lee #joel chan #hkdrama #hk drama

[fakerbatch]

Really loved the movie. A tiny bit draggy for me in the middle and I sometimes lost track of what was going on with so many characters but overall great. And (for anyone who might remember that Ben annoyed me in the DS movie and I thought the accent was horrible) Ben did a great job imo, good acting and has gotten some serious help on the accent, it was fine.